The 10 Golden Rules for White, Healthy Teeth

Not only do your teeth help you talk and chew, they can make or break your appearance. Here are 10 secrets for keeping your pearly whites in tip-top shape.

Go on a white-teeth diet

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If you’re quaffing red wine and black tea, or smoking cigarettes or cigars, expect the results to show up as not-so-pearly whites. Other culprits to blame for dingy teeth include colas, gravies, and dark juices. Bottom line: If it’s dark before you put it in your mouth, it will probably stain your teeth. Brush immediately after eating or drinking foods that stain teeth and use a good bleaching agent for white, healthy teeth, either over-the-counter or in the dentist’s office. For convenient teeth-cleaning action, eat an apple—make sure to brush on these teeth-whitening tips from dentists, too.

Chuck your toothbrush…

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…or change the head of your electric toothbrush at least every two to three months for healthy teeth. Otherwise, you’re just transferring bacteria to your mouth. According to Beverly Hills dentist Harold Katz, D.D.S., the best way to brush is by placing your toothbrush at a 45-degree angle against your gums and gently moving it in a circular motion, rather than a back-and-forth motion. Grip the toothbrush like a pencil so you won’t scrub too hard, and make sure to avoid these other toothbrushing mistakes.

Clean your tongue

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Use a tongue scraper every morning to remove tongue plaque and freshen your breath. One major cause of bad breath is the buildup of bacteria on the tongue, which a daily tongue scraping will help banish—here are some other causes of bad breath. Plus, using a tongue scraper is more effective than brushing your tongue with a toothbrush, says Dr. Katz.

Eat ‘detergent’ foods

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Foods that are firm or crisp help clean teeth as they’re eaten. We already mentioned apples (otherwise known as nature’s toothbrush); other choices include raw carrots, celery, and popcorn. For best results, make “detergent” foods the final food you eat in your meal if you know you won’t be able to brush your teeth right after eating. Next time you’re in the grocery store, pick up one of the seven foods that help whiten your teeth.

Brush your teeth with baking soda once a week

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This will remove stains and whiten your teeth. Use it just as you would toothpaste. You can also use salt as an alternative toothpaste. Just be sure to spit it out so it doesn’t count as sodium intake! Also, if your gums start to feel raw, switch to brushing with salt every other day. You should also try one of these 10 natural, at-home teeth whitening tricks.

Stay fresh

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To check the freshness of your breath, lick your palm and smell it while it’s still wet. If you smell something, it’s time for a sugar-free breath mint. Shopping for mouthwash? Make sure it is alcohol-free. Most over-the-counter mouthwashes have too much alcohol, which can dry out the tissues in your mouth, making them more susceptible to bacteria. These are some of the myths about mouthwash you need to stop believing right now.

Practice flossing with your eyes shut

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If you can floss without having to guide your work with a mirror, you can floss in your car, at your desk, while in bed, and before important meetings. In which case, buy several packages of floss and scatter them in your car, your desk, your purse, your briefcase, your nightstand. Who knows, you might just need dental floss for one of these hacks that aren’t flossing your teeth.

Brush your teeth when you first get out of bed and before you get back in at night

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They’re the two most crucial times, says Kathleen W. Wilson, M.D., an internist at the Ochsner Health Center in New Orleans and author of When You Think You Are Falling Apart. That’s because saliva (which keeps cavity-causing plaque off teeth) dries up at night, so it’s best to have all plaque cleaned off the teeth before sleep. It’s also important to brush first thing in the morning to brush off plaque and bacteria (morning breath!) that may have built up as you slept for healthy teeth. Here are six reasons that could explain why your gums bleed when you brush your teeth.